PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES (NATURAL DISASTERS COMMITTEE) (NO. 2) AMENDMENT BILL

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (10:49): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Parliamentary Committees Act 1991. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. I.F. EVANS (Davenport) (10:49): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I bring to the attention of the house that this is a bill to amend the Parliamentary Committees Act to introduce a natural disasters committee as a standing committee of the parliament. A different form of the bill has previously been through the house and has been dealt with. The Natural Resources Committee of the parliament recently released a report that recommended the establishment of such a committee. That committee, called the Natural Resources Committee, is a multiparty committee—

The Hon. M.J. Atkinson: Most of them are.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Well, it is multiparty as distinct from biparty. The reason I am introducing this is that the government suggested that because of the way that the previous bill was drafted the committee as proposed could not have general oversight on an ongoing basis of natural disaster issues and, indeed, they claimed that it could not have conducted an inquiry of its own motion. I checked with parliamentary counsel and I read the Parliamentary Committees Act and that is certainly not the advice back from parliamentary counsel or, indeed, a fair reading of the Parliamentary Committees Act. Regardless of that, I have adopted the government's criticisms of the previous bill and brought into this bill the capacity for the committee to have ongoing oversight of natural disaster issues. That is, the words are:

The functions of the committee are—

(a) to take an interest in and keep under review—

(i) measures that have been taken, or could be taken, to protect life and property from the effects of natural disasters; and

(ii) measures that have been taken, or could be taken, to reduce the incidence of natural disasters; and

(iii) the operation of any Act that relates to natural disasters; and

(b) to inquire into, consider and report on such matters concerned with natural disasters as are referred to it under this Act; and

(c) to perform any such functions as are imposed on the Committee under this or any other Act or by resolution of both Houses.

The Parliamentary Committees Act, of course, allows the committee to move a motion, to conduct its own inquiry anyway. So that covers off the previous criticisms by the government of the earlier bill. I am not going to go through and hold the house on the need for this particular committee. This is my third attempt over a period of about five years to try to get a committee of this nature established within the parliament. I would simply conclude my comments by referring members to the previous Hansard as to the reasons why I think the parliament and, indeed, the state would be better served through the establishment of a natural disasters committee as proposed in this particular bill.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mrs Geraghty.